The present invention relates generally to construction materials. More particularly, the invention concerns structural panels and methods for their manufacture which employ fillers comprised of solid foamed materials or stabilized organic materials, together with a reinforcing structure comprised of commercially available components, which when assembled and faced with a durable covering provides a building component.
Prefabricated structural building panels are utilized in the construction of structures such as houses and commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. They are also utilized in the construction of non-building structures such as retaining walls, fences, and cisterns. The pre-manufacturing of the panels allows for lower costs and faster construction than available with conventional, in-situ piecemeal construction.
Prefabricated structural panels are typically comprised of a filler medium reinforced with metal lattice structures and surrounded by a metal mesh or cage. A coating, such stucco, air blown cementitious mixtures or the like, is added to complete the building process. While these structural panels have been useful in the construction industry, they have had the disadvantage of being costly and sometimes unavailable in rural areas.
Lightweight plastic materials, including many different types of foamed synthetic resins and expanded plastic foams such as urethanes, polystyrenes, and the like, have a number of properties that are highly desired in building materials for various types of structures such as walls, roofs and the like, and these plastic materials have been the customary filler material utilized in structural panels. However, such materials are manufactured from petrochemical substances and have potential environmental damage issues associated with them. There is also the increasing price of these fillers due to the finite quantity of petroleum resources and their depletion. Additionally, there is the difficulty in obtaining plastic foams in developing countries and remote locations as well as the high cost of shipping to these locations due to plastic foam volume to weight ratio.
Companies which provide structural panels produce their own specialized metal lattice structures and metal meshes having various wire gauges and wire bends which deviate from industry standards. For example, industry standard masonry reinforcement trusses use a zigzag configuration having approximately thirty degree (30xc2x0) bends. At least one company produces lattice structures having forty-five (45xc2x0) bends for use in their structural panels, a configuration which is more structurally sound but which also increases the cost of the structural panel due to production costs. Typically, such structural panels are limited to only one thickness option. The wire gauges of the wire mesh are often altered at key structural points to reinforce the structural panel. While structurally superior, these designs result in increased expense passed to the end consumer. The design of the structural panel may also be complicated which further increases production costs. For example, the structural panel of U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,248 (incorporated by reference herein) utilizes preformed plastic foamed filler elements which create chambers when brought together for the later insertion of wires, pipes, etc., used within the building. In rural areas and foreign countries many of these specialized materials are not available and must be shipped, further increasing expense or prohibiting the area from using prefabricated structural panels altogether.
Accordingly, there is a need for a composite structural panel that utilizes commercially available components and tooling to reduce the costs associated therewith. What is also needed is a structural panel which incorporates filler mediums that are readily available or producible in rural areas. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.
The present invention relates to pre-fabricated structural panels which utilize commercially available materials, and a cost-efficient and simple method of construction. Accordingly, the main objective of this invention is a novel and improved structural panel which can be constructed in a wide variety of thicknesses, widths and lengths without dependence on limited source and costly materials.
The structural panels are generally comprised of a plurality of commercially available trusses, such as masonry reinforcement trusses, etc., and a plurality of fillers positioned between and aligned with the trusses. The fillers are sandwiched between the trusses to form a solid panel core. Commercially available wire mesh, substantially covering opposing side surfaces of the panel core, is attached to the trusses with metal ties to hold the panel core together.
In the preferred form of the invention, the trusses comprise substantially parallel rods having wire bent around the rods in a zigzag configuration at approximately thirty degree (30xc2x0) angles. The fillers may be comprised of a foamed filler such as solid foamed plastic or solid foamed glass. Alternatively, the filler is comprised of a stabilized organic material.
A commercially available lathing member may be imbedded into the structural panel for later attachment of drywall and the like.
To fabricate the structural panels, the fillers and trusses are first aligned in a alternating sequence. The alternating trusses and fillers are then pressed to form a panel core. The wire mesh is placed over opposing side surfaces of the panel core and attached to the trusses by attaching metal ties, such as bailing wire, to connection points of the wire mesh and trusses to hold the panel core together. A durable coating is later applied to the panel core and attached wire mesh.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.